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Memorial Day Parades canceled

Smaller gatherings planned in some communities

The Orange Blossom Memorial, a tribute to the region’s Civil War fallen, stands sentry in the Wallkill Valley Cemetery.

Posted
Wednesday, May 20, 2020 11:58 am

By Connor Linskey

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many local Memorial Day Parades have been postponed.

Parades in Walden, the Village and Town of Montgomery, Maybrook and Crawford have been canceled. Shawangunk has canceled all ceremonies, as has Walden. Gardiner does not have a Memorial Day Parade, however their popular Cupcake Festival held at Wright’s Farm is canceled.

Despite the pandemic, there are several alternative gatherings for the holiday that are in the works.

Maybrook hopes residents and business owners will honor veterans by decorating their houses with red, white and blue lights. Decorations would hang from May 20-31.

The Village Board might have a service at the memorial by Homestead Avenue on Memorial Day. The Village Board hopes to reach a definite conclusion on this matter sometime this week.

“We’re hopefully going through with it,” said Village Trustee Kevin Greany.

The Town of Crawford has planned a ceremony to celebrate veterans on Memorial Day.

Veterans, members of the police department and town officials will gather on the holiday at 10 a.m. at the veterans memorial at Crawford Town Park. They will honor the veterans during a brief ceremony, while abiding by social distancing regulations. There would be a larger ceremony sometime in the future when Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s New York State on Pause is lifted.

On Saturday, May 30, at 10 a.m. the Gardiner Fire Department and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8645 New Paltz color guard will place wreaths on the veterans memorial in front of the Gardiner Fire Department. During this ceremony, the VFW will fire a three-volley salute and play “Taps.”

“It’s very good because you can social distance any way you want here. There’s seldom more than 25 people here,” said Luke Lyons, a member of the Board of Directors for the Gardiner Fire Department and a Life Member of the Department as well.

Montgomery Town Supervisor Brian Maher is working with local veterans organizations to plan a livestream Memorial Day service. The service would be streamed virtually on the Town of Montgomery’s Facebook page on Sunday, May 24 at 1 p.m.

“We’re getting the details together now,” Maher said.

Village of Montgomery Trustee Michael Hembury will hand out American flags on sticks at the corner of Goodwill and Beaver Dam Roads on Saturday, May 23 at 11 a.m.

“We can’t let Memorial Day go. We have to honor these folks,” Hembury said. “The flags are free but the freedom was not free.”